Page 11 - Railway History

Railway History Redditch Heritage

Aerial view of Station Yard and sidings in the area know as Pound Meadow.
The footbridge still exist today.

In 1962, the Redditch to Evesham line was due for closure to passenger traffic even before the
‘Beeching Axe’ and went as part of it. The closure of the line from Redditch towards Birmingham
was saved by the decision to designate Redditch as a New Town in 1964, the rail link being
required for transporting stone that was required for the construction of the Redditch New Town
and was closed following the completion of the M42 motorway.

General freight facilities were withdrawn from Redditch in 1969. The station continued to handle
parcels and the freight yard was home to a rail fed stone terminal during the 1970's and early
1980's. In February 1990 the Cross City Line between Redditch and Litchfield was authorised.
This involved the electrification of existing lines including Barnt Green to Redditch and the
rebuilding of Redditch Station, with a new brick station building and an extension to the platform
to accommodate 6 car trains.

st
21 Century Improvements

On 4 September 2012 an application to the Planning Inspectorate for the necessary powers
upgrade the branch line between Redditch and Birmingham so that an extra train service can
run every hour. This will increase capacity on the line by a third. On 2 October 2012 the scheme
was accepted for review, and is now undergoing examination.

This work should be completed by the winter of 2014.

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